Invocations (2015)

The first movement presents a body in perpetual motion - spinning, fragmenting, multiplying against a stark white sky. Text fragments appear and dissolve: invocations of duty and responsibility interweave with declarations of separation and assertions of autonomy. Love becomes a complex territory where acceptance and control blur. These words act as spells - their power lying not just in their meaning but in their manifestation as visual elements that cut through space and time.

The work examines how written words carry weight beyond their literal meaning, becoming vessels for intent, judgment, and power. Through ritualistic movement and repetition, the body responds to and resists these textual impositions, creating its own language of defiance.

The second movement transforms constraint into liberation. Multiple figures emerge, exhaling columns of dark smoke - a visualization of long-held secrets, pressures, and imposed silences finally finding release. This breath becomes both exorcism and celebration, marking a transition from concealment to visibility.

The piece speaks to a broader experience of queer bodies across the African diaspora, examining how identity exists in tension with cultural expectations and inherited traditions. Through ritual movement and visual metaphor, "Invocations" suggests paths toward self-definition that neither fully reject nor fully submit to these forces.